Nearly half of Americans have delayed medical care due to the coronavirus (Article)

A concerning statistic, as reported in the article linked below, which also cites some other troubling numbers.

Specifically:

"48% of Americans said either they or a family member has skipped or delayed medical care because of the pandemic, and 11% of them said the person’s condition worsened as a result of the delayed care."

Trips to emergency rooms are also noted as being down, even ones that would have involved " ... patients who suffered heart attacks or strokes at home."

This is despite the " ... many safety precautions hospitals are taking to curb the spread of the coronavirus."

But this has also resulted in a sort of strange silver lining in one way, in that, because of reduced ER volume, ER staff in many places are " ... able to see people quickly."

But also

" ... nearly 7 in 10 of those who had skipped seeing a medical professional expect to get care in the next three months."

and

"Nearly 40% of Americans ... said stress related to the coronavirus has negatively affected their mental health."

And there have been economic consequences as well:

" ... about 3 in 10 adults have had trouble paying household expenses, with 13% reporting difficulty paying for food and 11% having trouble with medical bills."

"Nearly 1 in 4 adults said that in the next year, they or a family member would probably turn to Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for low-income residents."

Perhaps over time use of medical facilities will normalize, and return to pre-pandemic patterns, but in the meantime fear of the disease is apparently driving some disturbing NON-use of medically available options.

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-05-27/coronavirus-prompted-nearly-half-of-americans-to-delay-medical-care

Not good that medical appointments, testing and procedures are being delayed. That will probably lead to something negative.

Got a call from my dentist's office. They are just starting up for non-emergencies and did I want to schedule a cleaning, which I did. Hygienist said there were new protocols in place, to await in car and call when I arrived (with mask).

I also picked the first time slot at 8:00, figuring some virus might die off overnight

Djin

Ironically, my oncologist said he wasn't a huge proponent, when I asked him about my next dental appointment.

When the pandemic hit, I called and cancelled it.

Like PRATOMAN, I have become the "King of Flossing & Brushing" at home --- and I bought a common "spin brush" that seems to work wonders.

Every few days, I sprinkle a little bit of baking soda on the toothpaste, for a little extra "shine and polish" ...

My dentist is a little overzealous, anyway --- so, I simply told the secretary I will reschedule a dental appointment when the corona cases dwindle and I have gotten a vaccine.

Basically, "Don't call me - I'll call you."

Right now, the proximity needed for a dental cleaning makes me uneasy.

I know where I have been, but I don't know where the randomly assigned dental hygienists have been!

I certainly understand the importance of dental appointments --- just going to push the PAUSE button for myself, at present! I'll get back there, soon enough!

CYCLONE --- # Iowa State University

I went to the dentist last week - a large chunk of a cavity came out while eating a salad with croutons, so O had little choice. They were pretty careful: masks, allowing only a few patients in at a time, taking temperatures of everyone, dentist and assistants masked, some with face shields. One of the dentists, a man of 64, had a sort of hazmat suit on. His son, also a dentist, only a mask. I was pretty nervous ahead of the appointment, but felt more assured afterward.

My wife had a doctor appointment this week. She was masked, and wore a face shield, as were the few patients, and staff, there - minus the face shields.

On another note, one of our local drive-in restaurants - a popular place - remained open despite FIVE of its employees testing positive. One of the employees blew the whistle. Imagine how many people they could have infected. How irresponsible of the owner. Perhaps he believes it is a hoax, perhaps he needs the money, and just doesn't care. I wonder if he will be sued by his employees, or by customers.